Graduate Diploma in Community Economic Development (Concordia University)

Educational initiative discovered by "La Maison Verte"

Plan ahead: Autumn 2009 in French / Autumn 2010 in English:

Since its inception the Institute in Management and Community Developement has collaborated with the School of Community and Public Affairs and its Graduate Program in Community Economic Development. The Institute wants to inform you of this innovative program and how to learn more about it.

In brief, the School of Community and Public Affairs (SCPA) offers at the graduate level Diploma in Community Economic Development. This program enables its participants to step back and critically explore their practice or community experience with other practitioners. Such exploration allows our students to push themselves further, challenging the limits of their analyses and practices.

An innovative combination of academic and practical training exposes students to a wide range of issues. In small classes encouraging participation, students develop and refine their abilities and skills to do research, to communicate and analyse issues critical to community economic development. The programme also includes a practical project/ internship directly related to the participant's work or volunteer activity.

This graduate program strives to better equip practitioners to take the challenge of strengthening local communities in an area of globalization. The program recognizes community economic development's nature as social and economic. It views community development in its widest sense, and as an emerging, diverse field of practices and analyses. These include its holistic approach to practice issues, to assessments, and to the complex, long term nature of individual and community empowerment processes.

The program attempts to respond to the realities of community-based practitioners. It is designed to enable participants to continue working while taking the program. As well, it is structured to encourage Canada-wide participation while participants continue to be based in their communities.

For more information on the Graduate Diploma in community Economic Development program, I would invite you to visit the School of Community and Public Affairs' website at:

http://scpa-eapc.concordia.ca

Please do not hesitate to contact Perry Calce at 514-848-2424 ext 2579 or by E-mail cperry@alcor.concordia.ca should you have any questions.